All of these descriptives are correct. Essentially, what happens is the rifle fires unintentionally while chambering a new round or rounds. It is a dangerous situation. It is also a rare situation, despite the attendant publicity.

For some reason, the SKS seems to have a reputation for slamfiring, although the number of documented cases does not appear to be proportionally higher than with any other semi-automatic rifle.It is possible to probable that NUMERICALLY there is a higher number of reported cases with the SKS than with other firearms simply because there are such a large quantity of SKS out there. ie: Perhaps we hear of few slamfire incidents with MAS 49/56 simply because there aren't that many out there. I'll leave that determination to the statisticians.

There seem to be two probable causes for the phenomenon; worn or missing parts within the firing mechanism of the rifle AND/OR ''softer'' primers used in commercial ammunition as opposed to the original military-specification cartridges.

The following article (June 10, 1996), e-mail to The OG page (August 8, 1998) and discussion thread from Tuco's Gun Collectors' Forum (August 5-6, 1998) deal with these two probable causes.

The article deals with the known mechanical malfunction:

A Cautionary Note on the Ubiquitous SKS
by Joseph P. Tartaro,

Executive Editor

Estimates vary, but there may be as many as 2 million SKS rifles in the US; about 950,000 were imported in 1993 alone. The SKS is one of the most common foreign firearms designs found in the US. You see the 7.62x39mm caliber rifle for sale almost everywhere, and at gun shows and firearms retailers you will find them priced in the $125 to $200 range.

And while the SKS is of Russian origin, it has been produced in 14 different countries. While some politicians and reporters will often refer to them as an "assault rifle," the SKS is not affected by federal ban on military-origin semi-automatics. The SKS, as usually sold, has a 10-round internal magazine and wooden stock without a politically- incorrect pistol grip.

Most of those shipped before the 1994 federal gun ban were fitted with an attached, folding bayonet. Not long ago, the BATF issued an alert regarding some lots of imported SKS rifles imported from China, because some of the guns were found that would discharge all rounds with one pull of the trigger. In addition, the BATF advised that the attached bayonets be removed.

This spring, we received a letter from Johnson Arms, LLC, a Wisconsin Rapids, WI, firm specializing in military and collectible firearms, ammo and accessories, that warned of a safety problem with some of the Russian-made SKS rifles which had been imported into the US.

"Some of the Russian SKS rifles do not have a spring to keep the safety lever in place," wrote Kurt R. Johnson. "The safety lever has been altered so it would stay in place by friction fit. As the lever is used, it will become loose and flop back and forth from the 'safe' to the 'fire' position!

"There is no indication that the SKS was originally designed to function without the safety lever spring. Its omission may have been due to a spring shortage during production or rebuilding.

"Only those rifles manufactured on Russian soil seem to have the problem. The safety problem does not appear to affect the collectible 'Russian, made in China' SKS rifles, or the 'Chinese,' 'German' or 'Yugoslavian'- made," Johnson continued in his effort to help keep the shooting sports and industry safe.

"As a licensed dealer I have examined hundreds of SKS rifles with this potentially dangerous condition. Any capable gunsmith can replace the safety lever spring and refit the safety lever."

With his letter, Johnson sent us a copy of a notice on the subject which appeared in the March 1996 issue of The American Rifleman, along with a page from a Russian- language service manual and trigger housing diagram for the SKS. No one at our office reads Russian, so we will rely on other sources. The NRA magazine had also been alerted by Johnson and contacted an importer for confirmation.

The Rifleman reported:
"We checked with Century Arms, importer of many of the Russian SKS rifles, which confirmed that many SKSs, especially those of early manufacture, came through without the safety spring.

"Have a qualified gunsmith install an easily obtainable safety lever spring, and the problem should be solved," noted The Rifleman.

This was just a coincidence of timing. The rifle involved in the California accident was a Chinese-made SKS, not one of Russian manufacture. The Chinese- manufactured models apparently do not have the missing safety spring problem. In addition, it appears that the safety spring was not involved in the slam-fire.

The Bee reported that a 46-year-old man was killed in a freak and fatal accident while loading his SKS at a practice range. William Ferrante was killed instantly when the gun accidentally discharged and shot him in the face.

According to the report, the victim was being coached by a companion about the use of a strip loader used to insert cartridges into the magazine of the rifle. The rifle was pointed down-range and cradled in the companion's arms when the strip loader triggered the firing pin.

It also somehow overrode the sear that makes the SKS semi-automatic, turning the gun into full automatic fire. The recoil of the first shot kicked the muzzle into the air, and a subsequent series of shots spun it around further. A sheriff's department spokesman surmised that it was the final shot that sent the bullet into Ferrante's face.

The sheriff's department spokesman said that inspection of the rifle by authorities did not find any evidence that the gun had been illegally modified to fire in the full automatic mode. They considered the incident a singular malfunction of the SKS in question.

The Sacramento Bee contacted gunsmith Eric Amundsen who told the paper that the unfortunate misfiring of Ferrante's SKS was the result of a slam-fire. Amundsen also said that while such accidental discharges have been known to happen before, they are not considered a "typical" problem with the SKS. Amundsen and other sources The Bee contacted, in fact, said that such a slam- fire was "a freak accident" because of the SKS's notoriously heavy trigger pull.

Obviously, neither Ferrante nor his companion anticipated a problem. Certainly, if any problems were anticipated, the rifle would have been more firmly and safely pointed down-range.

Nevertheless, firearms are not toys, nor are they tools to be handled and treated carelessly. Slam-fires and other problems which occur because of some unusual non-design or manufacturer fault, can often be avoided with extra care and caution.

I recall an incident when a friend was shooting a pistol that I had brought to the range when a squib load (factory- loaded new ammunition) caused a bullet to lodge in the barrel. Fortunately, companions of the shooter were instantly aware of the problem by the sound of the discharge and, more fortunate, the squib load happened to be the last round in the magazine.

If, through pure chance, the squib load had been located elsewhere in the magazine stack, it is more likely that there would have been a greater chance for another round to have been chambered and fired, by a less attentive shooter or companion, while the squib's projectile was lodged in the barrel.

The SKS is very popular with some people while it is often criticized by others. Most people I know who own one believe them to be reliable and accurate guns that are safe and economical to fire, especially with some of the surplus 7.62 ammo that has been available. They also like its size and swing as a home-defense arm.

How many of them own Russian-made SKS rifles, I don't know. But anyone who does, or who isn't willing to bet their life and the lives of others on such certainty, should check with a competent gunsmith. It doesn't take long, and it shouldn't cost much. And anyone who enjoys the shooting sports, who likes being able to own guns, should be willing to make sure that their SKS�or any other firearms of domestic or imported origin�is properly equipped as designed and will function safely and reliably.

We hear a lot about locking guns up so that children and adolescents can't gain unauthorized access to them. But we should also be sure that the adults who have access also understand the responsibilities that accompany our rights.

Safety is every shooter's full-time business.

Shortly after posting the above article, I received the following e-mail from a fellow who suffered a slamfire with a MAS 49/56 (AND) a heartfelt safety lecture) some time later at the same Range. The culprit? Faulty primers in handloaded ammo.

OG, Nice webpage on the slamfire stuff. I am a member of the CA range where the guy was killed, talked to the Rangemaster that was there at the time and the guy that was showing the shooter how to load with the strippers was the guy who was shot.

I had a slam fire with my MAS 49/56 caused by my poor reloading procedure, I forgot to check for high primers. Since this was at the above mentioned range, you can be sure that I got a good chewing out for my sloppy procedures and a safety lecture, very embarassing but justified.

I didn't ask about the {SKS} shooters reaction to the accident, but I can imagine it really hit him hard from the comments of the rangemaster I was talking to.

I haven't had a single problem with my Russkie SKS slam firing as yet, but I only use the Russian and Yugo surplus and make sure I clean properly.

The MAS slam fire was a real wakerupper, luckily I was pressing the rifle forearm down into the bags with my left hand when I let the bolt fly AND I was loading single rounds.

The muzzle brake worked very well, from what I could tell the rifle didn't move a bit.

The fault was entirely mine. I should have inspected my handloads'primers properly. I was in a hurry to load the ammo the night before and got sloppy.

My RamPrime's primer punch had been bent letting it seat the primers crooked, luckily the only harm was to my ego. The worst thing that was said to me during the chew out was "I never thought you would be so careless, you know better."

THAT'S when I was told about the fatal sks accident( I was on the very same range). A humbling experience.

I now use the CCI Mil-Spec primers and make sure I seat them below flush. I haven't had any more problems since, but I still only load singles unless I'm using the French Mil-Surp ammo.

Stay Safe!

-Ranger

The thread from the discussion group expanded upon the function of the ammunition as a possible source of the slamfire situation:

My SKS double fired on one trigger pull the other day. The rifle had been totally stripped and cleaned prior to the incident. The firing pin is loose in the bolt.
Any ideas what caused this?
Thanks- wanderso

See ''The SKS Carbine'' by Kehaya & Poyer (North Cape Publications), which has drawings of these things and details on the fittings. Sometimes too much lubricant in the sear grooves (or elsewhere) can causing doubling, as can a worn-out or damaged sear or hammer.
-Rabbit

Are there certain models that are more prone to this than others? Any info on this wierd feature of the ugly-but-fun SKS would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
-SA

The real culprit is the priomer. Commercial primers are not nearly as thick as military primers. Slam fires aren't very common when using milsurp ammo.

My SKS was prone to the ocassional slam fire with several brands of factory ammo. Reloaders can purchase cci mil. spec primers for this application. Standard small/large rifle primers are too sensitive and will ocasionally slam fire.

I cut 10 coils from the return spring in my sks and have had no more problems with slam fire using std. primers. This is only true for MY gun. What you do with your sks is your responsibility! (Had to say that...) Do a search on 'slam fire' and you will get a lot more info on the topic that is more common and dangerous than you might think.

Your gun is probably fine. Try some different brands of ammo in it and odds are you will find one that works properly. Be aware that you can as easily get a slam fire from releasing the bolt. ALWAYS hang on to the sks and have it pointed at dirt when you let the bolt fly.

Also this rifle was engineered for a battlefield not a shooting range (as is the case with ALL military weapons). You must understand the design flaws of the battle rifle when trying to adapt it to the range. Slam fire wasn't nearly as problematical for a soldier defending a hill as it is for you or me at a public range.
-w38_55

This SKS has NEVER doubled a round of Federal ammo but has doubled several Remington UMC rounds. Reloading with cci mil. spec primers , NO doubles. Reloading with cci small or large rifl primers = doubling. You figure it out. I also stated for my rifle only.

Again, I'm a reloader so I'll stick with mil. spec primers and shoot ammo the gun was designed for.

Good luck and watch where you point that sks..
-w38_55

The followingfrom Doug Bowser appeared on the c-r-ffl (Cruffler) boards on August 19, 1998. Doug again discusses both ammunition and mechanical function as possible causes but expand the firearms to include AR-15 and Ljungman AG42B.

I have had several slamfires with the AR-15. I solved the problem with CCI small rifle primers. They are harder than Federal or Remington primers. CCI also mfgs. a military spec primer.

When using a rifle such as the MAS 49 and AG42B (I have had reports of the AG42B slam firing), you should never place the catridge on the top of the magazine and let the bolt slam home on it. Always load the cartridge into the magazine and load the rifle's chamber from the magazine. This allows a slight amount of delay to the operation of the rifle's action.

The friction of the round being stripped from the magazine slows the boltdown enough to help prevent slam fires. I never had a slamfire with the AR-15, with Remingtonm Primers, unless I slammed the bolt home on a cartridge that was not loaded intothe magazine.

Doug Bowser,

CamelliaCity Military Publications

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